Episode 110

It was probably the last thing that Hollywood needed when the great Spike Lee announced he was boycotting the Oscars in protest at the perceived lack of recognition of black and other minority talent nominated for the awards. But Hollywood, like much of America, is riven by race issues with enough black Americans in jail to found a small country and all under a black president. So in Oscar month we invited Christopher Sylvester, one of Britain's foremost experts on the movie industry, aboard Sputnik to tell us about the real Tinsel Town.

For much of the world, Hollywood is America (or at least the America of our imagination), but what's the situation here for black talent in theater, television and film. Bunmi Mojekwu starred in Eastenders amongst other things and a clue to the answer to the question of diversity could lie in the fact that next month she sets up Bam Productions to "employ a diverse workforce" in these fields. We asked her to hop on board Sputnik to see whether her experience here in Britain matched Spike Lee’s experience of Hollywood.